GBGH team receives flu shots for safety’s sake

October 23, 2017 – Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) launched its annual influenza immunization campaign in preparation for the upcoming flu season. All staff, physicians and volunteers are encouraged to receive their flu shot to protect patients, themselves, their loved ones and their colleagues.

To make receiving their immunization as convenient as possible, GBGH’s Occupational Health & Safety team is visiting departments and running clinics for staff, physicians and volunteers.

Gail Hunt, president and CEO of Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) received her flu shot as part of the hospital’s annual influenza immunization campaign. All staff, physicians and volunteers of the hospital are encouraged to receive their flu shot to protect patients, their colleagues, themselves and their loved ones. “Flu season is always a challenging time of year for hospitals,” says Gail Hunt, president and CEO, GBGH. “We are committed to ensuring the highest safety precautions are in place to protect patients, staff, physicians and volunteers. We want our team of care providers to remain healthy throughout the season, so they can be at GBGH to care for our patients when they need us the most.”

All GBGH patients will be screened for symptoms of influenza upon arriving at the emergency department or at registration as part of enhanced safety precautions during the upcoming flu season. Patients with flu-like symptoms will be required to wear a mask and be isolated when possible.

The public is asked to not visit the hospital if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms such as cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, fever, chills and sweats, headache, and muscle and joint pain. All visitors should practice hand hygiene on arrival and exiting the hospital to minimize virus transmission throughout the year and particularly during flu season.

“To help keep our community safe from the flu, we also encourage the public to receive their flu shot through their family physician or a pharmacy,” suggests Yvonne Stahlmann, manager, Occupational Health and Safety, GBGH. “The World Health Organization is confident the vaccine is a good match to the common flu viruses we will see this year. You can help protect yourself and your loved ones by getting the shot this year.”